Jetstar Airways will alter the timing of its Christchurch to Gold Coast service to give better links to passengers wanting to travel between New Zealand and Japan.

From October 26 Jetstar is retiming its Christchurch-Gold Coast service from the afternoon to the morning.

The altered service will depart Christchurch at 8.05am on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, arriving in the Gold Coast at 8.40am local time. The return service will depart the Gold Coast at 9.40am, arriving in Christchurch at 3.55pm.

The schedule change enables Jetstar to offer a one-stop connection between Christchurch and Narita airport in Tokyo via the Gold Coast three times a week, with a short transit time of just over 2 hours in the Gold Coast.

Jetstar head of New Zealand Grant Kerr said the new one-stop connection between Christchurch and Tokyo offered a low-cost, long-haul option for visitors from Japan to access the South Island or for South Islanders to travel to Japan.

The service had initially been put on sale for five months over the New Zealand summer season with a view to making it a permanent part of the airline's schedule.

Tasman flights are operated using Airbus A320 aircraft, and Gold Coast-Tokyo services are on Jetstar's new Boeing Dreamliner aircraft.

Christchurch Airport Matthew Findlay said the Narita airport connection through the Gold Coast would bring more Japanese to New Zealand.